In South Sudan, Security Council warns sanctions possible

In South Sudan, Security Council warns sanctions
possible against ‘spoilers’

12 August
2014

On a visit to South Sudan, the United Nations
Security Council today reiterated that it is ready to impose
sanctions against anyone who undermines the ongoing peace
talks to stop the conflict which has uprooted some 1.5
million people and placed more than 7 million at risk of
hunger and disease.

Speaking to the press in the capital
Juba, Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom,
which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for
August, reread a statement in which the members on Friday
had expressed readiness to consider “all appropriate
measures” against those who undermine the peace, stability
and security of the country.

“This is a very clear
statement by all 15 members of the Security Council that
there will be consequences for those who try to undermine
agreements that are reached in the Addis Ababa talks,” Mr.
Grant said, speaking alongside Foreign Minister Barbaba
Marial Benjamin.

The Addis Ababa talks are being
facilitated by the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD).

Mr. Grant is joined on the visit –
which also includes stops in Belgium, the Netherlands, and
Somalia – by Ambassadors Eugene Richard of Rwanda and
Samantha Power of the United States.

Earlier today,
Security Council representatives met with South Sudanese
President Salva Kiir and members of the Council of
Ministers.

“They were good meetings – open,
instructive and candid,” Mr. Richard said. He added that
the Council was able to express its concern for the
continued suffering of the people, while also listening to
the views of the Government. The Ambassadors are due to
meet tomorrow with former Vice President Riek
Machar.

Political infighting between President Kiir and
Mr. Machar started in mid-December 2013 and has since turned
into a full-fledged conflict that also sent nearly 100,000
civilians fleeing to UN peacekeeping bases around the
country.Addressing the press, Ms. Power called this an
“emergency visit” to underscore to the South Sudanese
leadership the importance of compliance with the Cessation
of Hostilities Agreement Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar had signed
on 23 January.

The visit is also meant to highlight the
importance of organizing a governing body in the run-up to
the election scheduled for next year. The deadline for
organizing such a body passed on Sunday.

“The
international community will not tolerate the violation of
the secession of hostility and the people who spoil the
peace agreement people who commit growth violation of human
rights must be held accountable,” Ms. Power said.

The
Security Council, in a statement last week, strongly
condemned reports of ongoing human rights violations and
abuses of international humanitarian law, including those
involving extrajudicial killings, ethnically targeted
violence, sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and
use of children, and enforced disappearances, among others.

Following the press conference, the Ambassadors met with
displaced persons in a UN Protection of Civilians site in
Malakal, Upper Nile State, in the north of the country.

The Ambassadors said they were “distressed and angry”
by what they saw, according to UNIFEED.

“One of the
reasons that we have come to South Sudan is because we are
responsible for peace and security across the world and we
have not seen peace and security in this country,” said
Mr. Grant. The Council representatives said they were
alarmed by reports that arms were coming into South Sudan to
set the stage for more battles when the dry season begins,
UNIFEED reported.

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